Islip IDA considers tax breaks for Medford contractor

A Medford-based electrical contracting company is seeking tax breaks from the Town of Islip to relocate its burgeoning business.

The principal of JVR Electric, Cynthia Lasala, reached out to the Islip Industrial Development Agency earlier this year in the hope of moving from the company’s 3,000-square-foot facility at 262 Middle Island Rd. in Brookhaven town to a building double its size at 160 Gary Way in Ronkonkoma, according to William Mannix, executive director of the Islip IDA.

Upon expansion, the private firm would also add 12 full-time positions to its roster of 18 employees, Mannix said. The “high-paying jobs” the company offers average $90,000 a year, he said.

“They’re a very small company but they’re growing quite rapidly,” Mannix said. “It’s a major step up for them.”

The proposed 10-year tax abatement would save the company $80,000 in property taxes, a one-time mortgage recording tax savings of $7,500 and a sales tax exemption worth $17,250 for the purchase of computer equipment as well as supplies for a planned $50,000 renovation of the space, according to Mannix.

“We deal a lot with contractors, especially electrical contracting in the town,” Mannix said. “This is a good sector of the economy to have in your town. The fact that it’s growing as much as they are, it’s important to us. That’s what we’re looking for — companies that are in growth mode.”

As a small, female-owned business, JVR Electric is eligible for government contracts, which has contributed to the company’s success, Mannix said. Lasala did not return a request for comment on the deal.

The Islip Town IDA Board passed the inducement resolution for the package at its meeting on July 12. The sale on the Ronkonkoma building is pending, according to Mannix. A public hearing on the IDA inducement deal was held on July 22, but no speakers showed up to comment.